“And they drove not out the Canaanites that dwelled in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, and serve under tribute.” (v.10)
Here in our text the word “they” refers to both Ephraim and Manasseh. So both tribes of the children of Joseph failed to drive out the Canaanites from their cities. Their failure to completely drive out the Canaanites is typical of all the tribes. Perhaps the people of Ephraim were guilty of this compromise because they wanted forced laborers among them. Even this convenience does not justify their disobedience to God’s command.
If they had the power to make the people of Gezer forced laborers, they certainly had the power to defeat them completely, especially because Gezer was a city that Joshua had already conquered (Joshua 10:33 and Joshua 12:12). This sort of compromise seems innocent, but it became the way that much idolatry and immoral worship was adopted by the people of Israel. This is one reason why we see so many struggles in the days of the Judges.
Although they lacked the courage to take on the iron chariots of the Canaanites, they had the nerve later to ask Joshua for a larger inheritance. (Joshua 17:14) Ephraim’s failure to trust in God for His deliverance over the Canaanites exposed them to a continual burden of overseeing them as servants and the idolatrous practices and customs of these wicked people. For the sake of ease and money, they disobeyed God and fell short of what He had for them.
Faith is not a passive journey. It requires action in a direction we often may not see a way through. However, God will honor your faith through your own courageous obedience.
The Truth: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
